Serving Children, Youth & Adults In-Person in Guelph & Virtually Throughout Ontario
You Take Care of Everyone Else.
Now It’s Your Turn.
If you work in policing, fire, EMS, or dispatch, your job asks you to face situations most people will never encounter. Over time, those experiences can affect even the most capable, resilient people. Here are straight answers to the questions I hear most often.
"Is what I'm feeling PTSD?"
Your work exposes you to potentially traumatic events far more often than most people experience over a lifetime. Sometimes one call stands out. More often, it's the cumulative impact of repeatedly responding to difficult situations that gradually takes a toll, even if there isn't one specific "worst call" you can point to.
You're not imagining it. Canadian public safety personnel experience PTSD at roughly twice the rate of the general population, and one large national study found that 44.5% of surveyed personnel screened positive for symptoms consistent with at least one mental health disorder, compared with about 10% of the general population.
Click here to learn about the symptoms
What helps?
There are effective treatments for trauma and PTSD.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is one of the most well-researched treatments for PTSD, with evidence supporting its effectiveness for first responders. One of the things many people appreciate is that you don't have to describe every detail of a difficult call for it to be effective. It's one of the approaches I use in my practice.
Another approach I will soon be offering is Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR). Some first responders describe knowing they're safe now, but still feeling as though their body hasn't caught up. DBR is a neuroscience-informed trauma therapy designed to work with those deeply held survival responses, helping the nervous system process what happened without needing to repeatedly revisit every detail of the experience.
Is this burnout, compassion fatigue, or PTSD, and does it matter?
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Burnout develops gradually. It often looks like exhaustion, cynicism, and the feeling that nothing you do makes much difference. It's usually related as much to workload, staffing, hours, and organizational stress as it is to any one difficult call.
Compassion fatigue develops from repeatedly witnessing other people's pain and suffering. It can show up as emotional exhaustion, a shorter fuse, and feeling like it's becoming harder to care the way you once did.
PTSD is a diagnosable response to trauma with its own pattern of symptoms, including intrusion, avoidance, changes in mood and thinking, and increased alertness.
These three terms sometimes get used as though they mean the same thing. They actually don't mean the same thing, and understanding the difference helps determine what kind of support is likely to be most helpful.
You can experience one, two, or all three at the same time, and that's more common than many people realize. It doesn't mean something is wrong with you or that you aren't suited to this work.
Sorting out which one, or combination, you're dealing with matters because the support is different for each. Burnout often requires changes to workload, recovery, and organizational support alongside therapy. Compassion fatigue often responds to rebuilding emotional capacity and healthy boundaries. PTSD benefits from trauma-focused treatment. Part of the first few sessions is understanding what's actually going on instead of guessing.
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Related reading: Depression vs. Burnout
Will anyone find out if I go to therapy?
For many first responders, this is the real question underneath everything else. It's a fair question in professions where asking for help has not always been well understood.
The short answer is no. What you share in therapy is protected under Ontario's Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA). Your employer isn't notified that you've booked an appointment, and I don't communicate with your service, your union, or anyone else about your care without your consent. There are a few legal exceptions, such as an immediate risk of serious harm, child protection concerns, or a court order, but those apply to every client I see, not just first responders.
What about fitness for duty?
Choosing to attend therapy on your own is not the same as participating in a service-directed fitness-for-duty evaluation. Booking an appointment with me does not trigger a report to your employer or place your operational status under review. If you have questions about how your service manages mental health leave or fitness for duty, it's worth discussing those directly with your employer, because policies differ between organizations.
Why some people choose support outside their service
Many services now offer excellent wellness supports, including Wellness Coordinators, Employee Assistance Programs (EAP), peer support teams, and in-house psychologists. For many first responders, these resources provide meaningful support and are exactly the right fit.
Others simply prefer working with someone completely independent of their workplace. Not because those internal supports aren't valuable, they often are, but because having that separation can make it easier to speak openly without wondering how seeking support might be perceived. For some people, that added peace of mind makes taking the first step feel more manageable.
There isn't a right or wrong choice. The most important thing is finding the setting where you feel comfortable enough to ask for help before things become overwhelming.
When it's time to bring in more support
If you've been trying these things for several weeks and nothing is really changing, or things seem to be getting worse instead of better, it may be time to reach out.
It's also worth connecting with someone if you're relying more on alcohol or something else to get through the day or fall asleep, you're pulling away from the people you'd normally talk to, you're finding it harder to switch off, sleep, concentrate, or enjoy things you usually would, or it's beginning to affect your work, your relationships, your safety, or the people who depend on you.
If you're not safe right now
If you're having thoughts of suicide or you're concerned about your immediate safety, don't wait to manage this on your own.
Call Here 24/7 at 1-844-437-3247, call or text 988 (Canada's Suicide Crisis Helpline), go to your nearest emergency department, or call 911 if you or someone else is in immediate danger.
None of this means these strategies failed, or that you failed. It simply means what you're carrying may need more support than self-care alone can provide. Reaching out early often makes recovery easier than waiting until you're overwhelmed.
Where to start...
You don't need to be in crisis to reach out. Most first responders who contact me aren't doing so because they've "hit rock bottom." They're getting in touch after a difficult stretch, one experience that hasn't let go, or simply because they've noticed they don't feel like themselves anymore.
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If you're wondering whether therapy is the right fit, we can start with a conversation. I'll answer your questions, explain what therapy might look like, and together we can decide whether it feels like the right next step for you.